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Chapter One ▬▬▬ Mourning Warnings
˗ˏˋ ───── QUINN Selwyn can not handle the silence that comes from the shrouding loneliness that plagues her. It was maddening how it leeched itself into every inch of her life like a virus spreading through the body, seeping into her weak, brittle bones. It drives her insane with every second that passes like a bitter and angry child left unsatisfied. Every singular moment where the pain runs deep in the skin of her forearm is terrifying. She doesn't want this, not really, not at all, but it's much too late.
It's quickly becoming all too much in the small mind of the oldest Selwyn child. The words that only seemed to circle around her thoughts leave her numb. Perhaps she should feel terrible, ashamed even for what she's done, but she can't find it in herself to care anymore. There was no point in kicking nor screaming when there was no one to listen. There was no god to save her, as far as Quinn's concerned, her life ended the moment she took that stupid mark.
What would pride and honor accomplish for her in the end after all was said and done? A girl like Quinn never once did have such high potential for success. She existed in a purgatory of mediocrity, never exceptional in any aspect, but rather a coward who had believed herself a lion. It would be her downfall, she was sure of it. Soon enough, The Dark Lord would come to realize she served him no greater purpose, then he would see no further reason to keep her around.
For now, she had a part to play. If not for herself, for little Leo; the piece of Quinn's heart she vowed to keep alive. He was only just entering his fifth year, he didn't yet deserve to know how cruel the world could be to mere children. He would never have to known what lengths she would reach in order to protect her youngest brother. Maybe nine year old Quinn who lacked any real sense of self or of the world would've thought it a heroic thing, but to her seventeen year old self, she wasn't so sure about anything anymore.
Now that seventh year loomed over her like a threat, it seemed like a shadow that darkened her otherwise bleak existence. This year was different, that much was clear on the faces of her peers and their parents who held their children tighter and lasted longer in saying goodbye's before watching them off to the train. Everyone could feel it in the air; fear for what was to come. With the way the war was turning in and out, the death toll rising rapidly, and death eater attacks in the streets at random. Yes, this year was different.
The countryside rushed past in a blur of colors. If Quinn stared long enough in one particular spot it would quickly make her dizzy before refocusing her attention back to the scene. In the seat across, Nadine Aleksander sat silently toying with the pages of her book while Freya Yaxley busied herself with feeding treats to her cat. The only audible noise that could be heard was their breathing and the occasional purring of Freyas cat, Frodo.
There wasn't much to say about the girls, they were friendly and polite to each other, of course, but that's as far as any of their interactions went. They all unofficially, officially agreed on their friendship for the sake of maintaining pureblood relationships. Due to the Selwyns weak standing among the sacred twenty-eight, they needed the beneficial connections more than ever now. In turn, it left them all no more than friendly.
